


Familiar's Feelings

by MadJJ



Series: Starkinelli Shorts [9]
Category: Agent Carter (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Daemons, F/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-02-12 17:28:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21480130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadJJ/pseuds/MadJJ
Summary: Angie's familiar knows something important is about to happen - Angie just wished Stella would tell her what.
Relationships: Angie Martinelli/Howard Stark
Series: Starkinelli Shorts [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1512605
Kudos: 8





	Familiar's Feelings

Angie almost stumbled and spilled the soup on the patron’s lap.

“Be more careful!” he exclaimed, red in the face.

“I’m sorry!”

Around her, Stella was flying wildly, a reflection of her agitated state. The patron’s wildcat hissed at the blue jay.

_Felines_, Angie thought with disdain.

It might have been a cliché that birds and cats didn’t go along, but Angie found it true more often than not. Those cats and lions and panthers were supposed to be animal spirits, not wild beasts! So how come they always looked at Stella like they wanted to eat her?

Birds were a far superior form of familiar. That could only be an objective truth; Captain America’s familiar had been a noble bald eagle.

Stella gave her ascent by chirping, then fluttered around some more, at Angie’s annoyance.

Angie walked off to a quiet corner of the dinner after delivering the customer’s order, Stella following close. She had a few words to say to the blue jay.

“What is going on with you?” Angie whispered to her familiar.

She had been using their bond to convey her thoughts all morning, but it seemed Stella was refusing to acknowledge her.

“You’ve been nervous all day long! Don’t tell me it’s about the wildcat or the lynx we saw earlier. You’re used to those by now!”

Angie had worked as a waitress for over a year now. Stella had had the time to adjust to the patrons’ various and colorful familiars. Of course, there had been incidents, like that time a particularly aggressive woman’s hyena had almost gulped down Stella while her person was throwing insults at Angie, but nothing like that had happened in months.

Stella, who had landed on a lamp fixed on the wall, just fluttered her wings. She refused to communicate in any way with Angie today and it was driving the waitress crazy.

“Stella, if I don’t get my tips, you don’t get your seeds, you know that! So please,” she begged with an edge to her voice, “stop making such a fuss, all right?”

Stella had slumped when the lack of seeds had been mentioned.

“I’ll try Angie,” she chirped in a mumbled apology.

_Finally, she talks!_ thought the woman. _Maybe she’ll tell me what her problem is later._

Familiars had a knack for sensing when something important was about to happen to you, though, often, not in details. Sometimes, they did know exactly what would happen but kept it for themselves. Stella had always been straightforward with Angie though. When she was about to have her first kiss. Before her first successful audition (unfortunately, for a play that had then been canceled). When she had gotten her first job.

Here? Nothing. Just a constant nervous flutter around her that distracted her from the work she was supposed to be doing.

Stella usually stayed perched on her shoulder during her shifts, quiet and barely noticed by the patrons. Now, however, Angie could feel her shifting, digging her talons in her uniform’s fabric as the waitress took notes of orders on her notepad.

Whatever was coming her way, it better had to be good!

It was the end of the midday rush when the door opened on Peggy. Angie immediately relaxed at the sight of her friend. Stella and Prudence, Peggy’s crow, had always been fond of each other, chasing each other around in a corner or another where they wouldn’t bother other customer. Maybe the crow’s presence would calm the blue jay for a bit.

The first time their spontaneous chasing around had happened, Peggy had expressed her surprise: Prudence was calm by nature, and generally serious. She didn’t reveal her playful side with just anyone.

The two familiars’ immediate affection had been what had initiated Peggy and Angie’s friendship. Everyone knew that if two familiars got along, chances were their persons would get along too. That had been the case with Peggy. She was her favorite customer. They even lived together now, since Peggy had asked her to be her roommate in a fancy house – something that Angie was still giddy about. The ceilings were so high Stella spent all of her time spinning and flying around. There even were installations meant for the birds to rest on or play with.

Stella perked up just as she saw Peggy and Prudence, jumping up and down on Angie’s shoulder in excitation.

“I’ll be with you in a minute, English,” Angie sent a smile to her friend.

She meant to go to the counter to grab a menu for Peggy, but as she turned away, Stella jumped off her to fly over to Prudence.

Really, couldn’t she wait a minute before she -

Stella flew past Prudence. The crow didn’t seem to ruffled by that though; as if the familiars both knew something their persons did not.

Stella had started fluttering around the man who had been following Peggy. Angie hadn’t noticed him at first, but now she hurried over to get her blue jay to stop bothering the stranger.

As she got closer with nervous steps, she thought he reminded her of someone, but she barely had the time for more than a rapid look over.

“Stella, what are you doing?” she tried to grasp her familiar.

On the stranger’s shoulder, a magpie flapped his wings in response to Stella’s attention. He seemed to share the blue bird’s excitation.

Angie finally caught her familiar and kept her delicately between her hands, knowing from experience how to keep them close enough that Stella wouldn’t escape, but with little pressure so that she’d still be comfortable.

“I am so sorry,” she apologized to the man who seemed as puzzled as she was by the familiar’s behavior. “I don’t know what’s with her today -”

Even when she had met Prudence, Stella had had a more rational behavior than now.

The stranger looked up to her and his puzzlement quickly left for a pleased smirk to take its place. Angie forgot what she had meant to say.

_Darn, those are some pretty eyes._

“It’s all right, I don’t mind,” said the man.

Angie’s grasp loosened a bit and Stella took advantage of it to slip out.

“Crap,” she muttered as her familiar and the man’s started chasing around.

“Peggy, why don’t you introduce me to your friend?” asked the man without leaving Angie with his eyes.

Her roommate also followed the familiars with her eyes, resignation displayed plain across her face.

“If I must,” Peggy said with a flat tone. “Howard, this is Angie Martinelli, my roommate. Angie, Howard Stark...”

Howard took her hand into his and laid a kiss upon it.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Neither of them bothered paying any more attention to the two birds getting cozy with each other after that.

**Author's Note:**

> Psst, I have a tumblr: https://mad-j-j.tumblr.com/


End file.
